August 6, 2019
Since the referendum, we have heard from many leavers and some remainers that the vote was democratic and we must respect it. In recent weeks, the attitude of the Brexiteers has become somewhat shrill. We are told that the vote represents the will of the people[1]. There is increasing pressure for a second vote with… » read more
Posted by pbye
July 23, 2019
In an interview with the Financial Times[1], Vladimir Putin claimed that liberalism was obsolete: ‘…the Russian president said “the liberal idea” had “outlived its purpose” as the public turned against immigration, open borders and multiculturalism’. He made the following statement. ‘This liberal idea presupposes that nothing needs to be done (about immigration). That migrants can… » read more
Posted by pbye
June 6, 2019
The UK has lived in interesting times since my previous post on 20th February. The Brexit date has been postponed twice and now sits at 31st October 2019. Yet another Conservative Prime Minister has been destroyed by the Europe question: Theresa May joins Margaret Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron as the latest victim. And… » read more
Posted by pbye
February 20, 2019
In September 2017, I posted a blog called ‘The rise of the kakistocracy’. Kakistocracy means government by the worst[1]: the most incompetent people are in power. When I wrote the piece, there was no shortage of candidate kakistocracies; Venezuela and Zimbabwe provided two rather extreme examples out of many. But what about the western democracies?… » read more
Posted by pbye
December 5, 2018
Opinions about Brexit can be divided into two broad groups: those that I will call ideology-based and those that are evidence-based. The dominant opinion in the first group is the question of sovereignty. It was a significant factor in the 2016 referendum and continues to motivate many of those favouring Brexit. It can be countered… » read more
Posted by pbye
October 11, 2018
Broadly speaking, scientific research takes two forms. One is applied research, which aims at practical results, such as more efficient and smaller batteries, or electricity generation from solar power. The other form is fundamental research, which is driven by curiosity and aims to expand human knowledge without any specific practical goal in mind. However, fundamental… » read more
Posted by pbye
July 18, 2018
As the dust settles over the wreckage left by President Trump’s visit to Europe, two things have caught my attention. The first concerns his attitude to the allies of the US, in the form of NATO and members of the EU. He gave everyone a hard time but I noticed – perhaps I am alone… » read more
Posted by pbye
June 28, 2018
I started this blog just over three years ago. My purpose was to defend the importance of evidence for policy-making, something that should be obvious. Yet all too often, it was clear that evidence was being ignored or distorted unless it suited policy. Since I wrote that first piece, the situation has deteriorated. In the… » read more
Posted by pbye
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InfoSociety, Political structures, Science & Policymaking, UK in Europe |
April 25, 2018
The many numbers with which we are bombarded every day can be misleading for two main reasons. First, they can simply be wrong. The most egregious example is the £350 million per week we were told by the Brexiteers during the referendum campaign that we would save on our annual payments to the EU. It… » read more
Posted by pbye
February 12, 2018
The past two years or so have seen an alarming departure from the political centre ground in many democracies. Brexit has polarised the UK, where the major parties and indeed the whole population are split into Remainers and Leavers. Even those wanting to leave the EU are divided between so-called hard and soft approaches, such… » read more
Posted by pbye
